"Don't worry," Robin told me. "He's like that to everybody." I took a deep breath and sighed it out. I felt hopeless in a way. If I wasn't stuck with a psychopathic killer, I was stuck with the biggest jerk in Gotham City…who dressed like a bat.

This town is full of nutcases.

I spent the night sleeping hard after the old man, Alfred, pumped me with antibiotics and sleep-aids. I slept so hard, I didn't even dream. What a blessing that was.

When I woke the next morning, though, I couldn't tell if it really was morning due to this…cave…room. Whatever.. I felt groggy, but better. I noticed less pain and a more relaxed feeling in my muscles. I assumed it was better here, but I still wanted to be left alone in my own bed.

By the time I was alert and could actually form a sentence, the little bird boy came in. He was a small kid. He couldn't have been older than thirteen. He probably got roughed up in school for his size. Boys don't like the petite boys who can't help but to develop behind everyone else. I was that boy once, too.

"How'd you sleep?" he asked, in his not yet fully matured voice.

"Hard," I replied.

"Probably from all those meds Alfred's got you on."

"That's what I figured. What are you doing in here?" I asked. He was playing around on the computer that was on the tall desk next to my bed. On top of it also sat medication bottles, a syringe box, and a box of gloves.

"Alfred asked me to check your vitals and everything. He wants to make sure your blood is okay from that infection," he replied.

"Why doesn't he come do it?"

"Alfred's a busy man, bro!" he said loudly. "He can't be a butler, chef, and doctor all at once."

"Batman has a butler?" I asked.

"I know, right?" the kid smiled. So not only was he a weirdo, he was a wealthy weirdo? Wealthy enough for a butler? You have to be kidding me.

"How old are you anyway? Thirteen?"

"No way, bro!" he shouted again. "I can't tell you how old I am, but I will say that the eighth grade isn't as hard as everyone made it seem." I chuckled. To be the secretive Batman's sidekick, he wasn't too secretive. I guess he was still learning.

"So you make good grades then?"

"Well, that's not what I was referring to, but not bad, yeah."

"What were you referring to then?" I asked.

"The atmosphere. People have more respect for me since I learned how to fight. Before, I was just the dork who couldn't protect himself."

"I know that feeling," I said. "I used to get beat all the time in school."

"Who taught you how to fight?" he asked.

"I did. I got tired of being pushed around. Finally started pushing back."

"Your blood looks okay," he said.

"How do you know? You haven't taken any of my blood."

"You see that pink tube in your arm?" he asked. There was a pink tube running from a little machine into my arm, next to my IV. "There's a very little device in the needle that absorbs and then ejects your blood back and forth. It's saying the infection is mild. Before, it was severe."

"Does that mean I won't have to be stuck here for a whole month?"

"Doubt it. Alfred is really thorough. He won't let you out until he has to." I sighed. "It won't be bad here though. I spend all my extra time down here, too. I don't really have to, either."

"So tell me this, kid," I began. "What's a thirteen year old boy doing underground all the time, dressing up in a Christmas colored suit, fighting bad guys?"

"These are robin colors okay, bro! I didn't say I was thirteen, I said I was in the eighth grade. Who knows? I could've flunked; maybe I'm even thirty…? And I fight bad guys because no one else will. Just like when everyone was picking on me in school, no one ever helped me. No one stood up and did what was right. So I'm that person out in the city. I stand up for those who can't or can't find anybody who can." The kid talked passionately about what he did. He knew he was doing the right thing and he was proud of it. He seemed like a good kid. I just couldn't imagine him taking bad guys like me down. How is it he's not in this bed right now with a gun-shot wound?

"So you just went up to Batman one day and asked for a suit and he gave you one?"

"No," he said, sounding a little darker. He turned back to the computer and started typing something. "My parents were killed when I was eight…Batman was the only one to stand up for me…that's why I'm alive right now." I felt bad for asking him. Talking about his parent's death obviously darkened that hyperactive boy inside him. I could relate to him, though. I knew all about losing parents.

"My parents were killed, too. Within a few years of each other," I said.

"Mine died the same night by a gangbanger…like you," he said looking over at me. His mask covered his eyes with a white sheet, but he was looking at me. Even though I couldn't see his eyes, I felt them penetrate me. This poor kid had a child hood like mine because of someone like me. If ever I felt like apologizing to anyone for what I've done, it was now.

"I'm sorry…Robin. People like me…we didn't have a choice, really."

"That's a bunch of crap," he replied. "I could've been just like you, but I'm not. I'm much better because I tried to be. You just didn't try."

"That's brutal…but it's right. I guess I didn't wanna try anymore. It's tough staying positive when everything around you is so negative all the time."

Robin didn't reply to me then. He just kept typing. In hopes to bring out that rambunctious rascal out of him again, I started to question him. He seemed hesitant to answer them, but that didn't stop me.

"If I'm stuck here for a good month, I'd at least like to know the people I'll be with," I explained. "I mean, you probably know everything about me already, huh?"

"Sort of," he answered finally.

"Right. So, do you have a girlfriend? I bet the girls are beating down doors to be the Boy Wonder's girl right?" I smiled. He chuckled. I could see his stature relax again.

"I wish. I don't have a girlfriend, but I will."

"So then you like a girl?"

"Yeah. Her name is Barbara. She's in my math class. But she's like a genius, bro. Colleges are already asking her to come check them out. I don't think she likes me, to be honest." I then remembered having a junior high crush and feeling literally crushed after it was all said and done. I wish I would've felt more of that pain than the pain I had actually felt throughout that time.

"What's she look like?"

"Red hair, blue eyes. Athletic, smart, talented...perfect." The last part he said under his breath, but I still heard it.

"My ex-girlfriend was read headed. She was pretty cool, too. Real pretty."

"What happened?" he asked.

"She, uh…she was murdered."

"Ah, bro, I'm so sorry," he said. "That's awful."

"Things happen, ya know?" I remembered Ginger's hair being the prettiest red color. Her eyes were crystal blue and her skin was light and un-freckled. Something that's rare for a natural red head. For some reason, even after blocking out as much pain as I could, I felt it creep up again with even a hint of a depression. I hadn't thought about her for a while. I didn't want to. "Does this Barbara know that you're Robin?" I continued on, trying to force out of these underlying emotions.

"No way. I'm not allowed to go around telling people. If I could, I totally would tell her. I think that's the only way I could impress her."

"You must have something else impressive about you. You must be athletic, too, if you're beating up guys twice your age. I bet you solve crimes sometimes even. That must mean you're pretty smart."

"It's not like that. I'm still learning all this stuff, so I'm not the best yet."

"You don't have to the best. You just have to be good. Since the Batman seems to be sort of bummer, I doubt he's taught you anything about girls."

"Ain't that the truth," he said with a hint of bitterness.

"I bet by the time I leave here, you'll know so much about girls, you'll have two girlfriends." The look on his face was priceless. His mouth was perched open a little bit as he stared at me in silence.

"Bro!" he said with the same expression on his face. I had just become this kid's new mentor. Maybe even his hero. After all, what's a teenaged boy's biggest obsession and fear? Girls.

I had a feeling we'd be spending a lot of time together during my stay.